Free Your Ears

 

Ratings

 

 

Pros

 

• Again, very good sound level.
• Excellent level of ergonomics.
• Bluetooth V5.3.
• Gaming mode with 54ms latency.
• 4 GoerTek silicon crystal microphones and DNN AI neural network noise cancellation algorithms.
• Outstanding price/performance ratio.
• Aerospace grade aluminium alloy carrying case.
• Four selectable EQs from the RoseLink APP.
• Brighter tuning.
• Touch functionalities can be customised from the APP.

 

Cons

 

• There is no possibility to switch off/on the TWS by touch.
• No possibility to enter pairing mode by touch.
• It seems that the battery life using LDAC and medium/high volume is clearly inferior.
• None of the tips fit my morphology.
• Bigger tips don’t fit in the charging box.
• Its performance is better for listening to music than for use with calls and/or games.

 

Purchase Link

 

https://rosetechnics.com/products/earfree-i5-anc-tws-earbuds-ldac-bluetooth-earphones-ipx5-54ms

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256807678369784.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt

 

Link to the WEB

 

https://rosetechnics.com

 

Introduction

 

Rose Technics continues its TWS line. This time they have a different design compared to the previous Ceramics X. While those have a more spherical shape, the EarFree-i5 are more like earbuds because of their almost cylindrical ear spike. This time, the EarFree-i5 have a hybrid noise-cancelling mode that achieves a profound noise reduction of 48 dB over an ultra-wide frequency range of 4000 Hz, effectively eliminating 98.9% of everyday noise. The EARFREE-i5 is equipped with the HR2 topological diaphragm driver, Cadence HiFi 5 DSP chips and LDAC codec support. This results in only 0.02%@1000Hz distortion. A single charge provides 10 hours of playback, 50 hours in total with the charging case. Just 10 minutes of charging provides 12 hours of music playback. The EARFREE-i5 also supports dual-device connectivity with Bluetooth 5.3. They are IPX5 certified for water resistance. They are manufactured with an aerospace-grade aluminium alloy body made by precision four-axis CNC machining, combined with polishing, sandblasting, anodising, etc. They feature 4 GoerTek silicon crystal microphones and DNN AI neural network noise cancellation algorithms. In addition, the gaming mode achieves an imperceptible latency of 54 ms. The EARFREE i5 has an ergonomic design based on more than 8000 data. The ROSELINK application allows you to customise the control of the device and offers HIFI/POP/ROCK equalisers for different types of music. Finally, as an option, Rose offers Super NC 200 pads that are designed to provide richer detail, enhanced, enveloping bass and vibrant highs. These ear cushions naturally expand to fit the contours of the ear canal, ensuring a perfect fit, creating a sealed space that effectively isolates external noise by up to 5dB. In addition, the NC 200 is designed to never slip out after being placed in the ear. There is a choice of 4 different sizes of ear tips, compatible with any earphone.

 

 

Specifications

 

• Driver: dynamic with 10 mm DLC diaphragm.
• Audio format: LDAC/AAC/mSBC/SBC.
• Playback time: 10H. 50H total with charging case.
• Impedance: 32Ω.
• Output power: 15 mW.
• Frequency response range: 14 – 23600Hz.
• Bluetooth version: 5.3.
• Communication range: 10m.
• Headset battery capacity: 40 mAh.
• Charging case battery capacity: 500 mAh.
• Charging time: approx. 1h.

 

 

Packaging

 

The Rose EARFREE-i5 comes in a small square box with dimensions 120x121x34mm. The background is white, with the brand logo in the top left corner. In the upper right corner is the model name. In the centre is a real picture of the TWS coming out of the cargo box. In the bottom left corner there are several logos of the technologies it uses (LLR ‘Lightning Latency Reduction’, ELO ‘Equal Loudness Contour’, LDAC). In the bottom right corner you can read ‘Pure Sound’. On the back side there are some specifications different from those published on the WEB, especially regarding the driver (12mm topological diaphragm with HR2 technology with Planck structure). The contents and a realistic photo of the TWS are also indicated. The interior is simple and only protects the box and accessories. In a nutshell:

 

• The Rose EARFREE-i5.
• The charging box.
• Three pairs of white silicone tips sizes S/M/L.
• One short USB C cable.
• One user manual.

 

The accessories are the minimum required. But, on this occasion, the tips are useless for me, they don’t fit at all. But I have quite large ear canals and have problems with almost all tips.

 

 

Construction and Design

 

The EARFREE-i5’s cargo box is constructed from aerospace-grade aluminium alloy and CNC machined. It is slightly heavy. The logo is in the centre of the case in light grey ink and underneath is an LED. The model is on the top. On the bottom is the USB C connection and a reset button, plus some specs. There are also a couple of TORX screws on the ends.
The headphones are made of hard plastic. They have an elongated spike whose base is rectangular in shape. There are two contacts and a hole in the base. At the end of the straight part of the stem, before the outer curve, there is a dark oval, which is the touch-sensitive area. This outer side is very similar to earbuds, while the inner side is more hybrid and more classic TWS shapes, although more stylised, not so circular, but more elongated, to facilitate ergonomics. The mouthpieces are very short and oval, protected by metal grilles. In the middle of the oval capsule is a black mole with a letter indicating the channel. Behind it, there is a hole a little smaller than the top, which is protected by a grille.
The aluminium alloy construction of the cargo box contrasts with the rather ordinary smooth hard plastic construction of the TWS. The design is not new to me, but I have never tried TWS in this form before and I can say that they make the ergonomics and fit easier, except for the standard tips. Having to use different and bigger tips than the standard ones, the cargo box can’t be closed, which is a big inconvenience for me to use it normally.

 

 

Adjustment and Ergonomics

 

As I said, the EARFREE-i5 are very comfortable, once I found the right tips. Actually, they are very similar to the included ones, but with a larger external diameter and subtly higher. This means that with them on, I can’t close the box without them deforming too much. But with these tips, I get a very good sound, a great seal and a superior fit. I can only say that the result is excellent, very occlusive fit and very good isolation.

 

 

 

Operation and Connection

 

Again, the Rose EARFREE-i5 uses Bluetooth v5.3 and the formats are LDAC/AAC/mSBC/SBC. The operating range is around 10m. The Rose Ceramics X allows pairing with two sources at once and can be activated from the app. In fact, many of the functions can be activated from the app. On this occasion, the operations allowed from the headphones themselves are not many, but they are extended with the app. From the RoseLink APP you can find out:

 

• The battery level of each earphone.
• Change the noise cancellation mode (Noise Cancelling, Wind Noise, Normal, Transparency).
• Change the tuning (Super Master EQ) between four options (Pop, HiFi, Rock, Light).
• Choose the protocol (Lossless Audio Protocol) between LDAC or AAC/SBC.
• Activate Game Mode.
• Activate Dual Device Connection. The method for dual pairing is described in the manual.
• Lab Features: you can control whether the TWS respond to touches or to a detection of whether or not they are inserted in the ears.
• You can change the language of the TWS (English or Chinese).
• The firmware can be updated. For this revision the version is 124.
• The functionality of the touches can be customised.

 

This last function is very interesting, as the TWS allows four actions:

 

• One touch.
• Two touches.
• Three touches.
• One long touch.

 

Each option can be assigned an action to choose from any of this list and for any TWS (L, R).

 

• No function.
• Volume down.
• Volume up.
• Play/pause.
• Previous song.
• Next song.
• Noise cancellation mode.
• Voice assistant.

 

I really miss the functions of being able to turn on/off the TWS, as well as activate the pairing mode. There is no reference to functions related to calls from the APP. But these functions are mentioned in the manual:

 

• Accept calls: one touch on any earphone.
• End calls: a long touch on any earphone.
• Reject calls: a long touch on any earphone.

 

Finally, some functions between the APP and the manual are not the same. The manual specifies that the gaming mode can be deactivated/activated with 5 taps.
It is specified that with a single charge the EARFREE-i5 can last up to 10 hours, 50 hours in total with the charging case. Again, it happens that if they are connected to the APP the battery life is much shorter. On the other hand, louder volume also means higher costs, as does the use of Game mode.
The listening power and volume is quite good, as good as or better than in the Ceramics X model.
The APP can be operated at the same time as it is connected to another device, so that all functions can be controlled in parallel.
The lower button on the underside of the charging box allows the TWS to be reset. To do this, press it for 10 seconds and wait for the LED to flash up to five times.
There is no description or colour coding for the battery control from the charging box.

 

 

Sound

 

Profile

 

The Rose EARFREE-i5 has 4 EQ modes: HiFi, Pop, Rock and Light. The first three move between a soft and moderate V, where you can boost and/or de-emphasise the bass or upper midrange and upper treble. The HiFi option seems to be the option with more bass and more balanced upper mids. The Pop option reduces the bass to also emphasise the upper mids. The Rock option lowers the bass slightly, but reduces the upper mids and, above all, the first treble. Finally, the Light EQ is much different: the bass is lowered completely, generating a U-profile, but with clearly more excited upper mids and treble. It really lives up to its name, as it is a distinctly brighter and clearer profile.
For the following review I have opted for HiFi tuning and LDAC mode. As a source I used the Fiio BTA30 Pro connected to my PC.

 

 

Bass

 

The bass of the Rose EARFREE-i5s is very much in line with the Ceramics Xs. Again, the behaviour is surprisingly natural, which is demonstrated in the very low-frequency pure tone test. Just as the first note is somewhat light, there is no excessive undulatory character and despite its low loudness, there is hardly any colouration. At this point, the level of physicality is low. As the Hz rises, this physical sensation becomes more pronounced and some colour mixed with a subtle undulatory behaviour is perceived. The 40Hz mark is very good, realistic and with a remarkable level of energy. The translation to real music is quite good. Although the bass is not very fast, it sounds quite compact, clean and natural. They have a remarkable degree of depth and a certain level of punch, body, power and physical range. They are clearly not a TWS for bass heads, but they can cope very well with electronic music. The decay isn’t the fastest, but they have a good degree of dryness and fit decently, without becoming a doughy, too fluffy or thick bass. With a fairly acceptable technical level, they demonstrate authority, a good level of precision and remarkable realism. Among the qualities I would like to highlight are a good level of darkness and depth, as well as a more than acceptable physical component.
In the dirty, complex and unfiltered bass test, the EARFREE-i5s go into simplicity mode: basic reproduction so as not to sound bad. Bass lines are not reproduced with too much complexity, nor are they too resolving, as expected. But there are no glitches and a good level of naturalness is maintained, which does not impoverish the reproduction at all. Both layer generation and layering are above the basic level, mostly enhanced by a good level of realistic depth and natural loudness.

 

 

Mids

 

The first half of the midrange with the HiFi EQ reminds me a lot of the Ceramics Xs. But as there is more emphasis on the upper mids and first treble, the area feels a bit lean. The presence of the male vocals is quite good, although the warmth is limited and the sound veers towards clarity and light. In no case is the sound too dense, although the good bass base gives it a good foundation, musically speaking. Once again, I have to admit that the sound continues in the good vein demonstrated by the Ceramics Xs. The sense of naturalness and realism continues to progress, although I still feel that the sound is not too explicit. The tendency of the sound is towards slightly bright neutrality, with slightly sharp mids, something that is most clearly felt with the female vocals. They sound very transparent and feel completely emancipated, setting themselves up as the true protagonists of the performance, with a quite appropriate timbre, albeit with a bright tendency. In this case, the sound is more vivid, splashy, even more eloquent. Admittedly, it is a little more prone to sibilance, though within very tolerable limits. As I always say, over-emphasising the upper mids can work against the sound. Rose has added a pinch more energy in this critical area and the move has worked well. They’ve managed to pull back the veil and that darker, more nuanced feel that the Ceramics Xs had, but without overstepping the proper bounds of realistic sibilance. In this way, the sound never feels forced and the informative flow of sound is elevated, offering more detail and finer nuances. All of this, framed at the level of a $63 TWS, is another step towards a sound that is getting closer and closer to affordable IEMS.

 

 

Treble

 

Rose has decided to do some work on the treble of the EARFREE-i5s compared to the Ceramics X. And it shows. They’ve managed to add a certain level of energy and now the first treble is more luminous, brighter and closer. True, they have a somewhat metallic patina, but they crackle in the first instance. There is sparkle and life in the treble of these TWS and that will satisfy those Treble-Heads who opt for this new model.
The timbre in this area is sharper and on those songs focused on the high end, the sound will become more shimmering, even lingering in our ears when the song is over. Yes, the treble is more penetrating, but also finer and more delicate. They have also managed to improve the speed, achieving a higher resolution, more definition and a truer fit to the original high notes.
On the other hand, there is a slight loss in the air area, leaving a subtly drier sound.

 

 

Soundstage, Separation

 

The scene is still eminently frontal. But there seems to be a point of depth and grounding. It continues to move away from intimacy, maintaining very good laterality and a more than acceptable sense of height. The sound is perceived as more separated, gaining in transparency, clarity and light. There seems to be more space between notes, even more darkness in the background. The low sense of density gives the sound a certain sense of openness and expansiveness. Without the scene being very large, it does feel more spacious.
In terms of resolution level the sound still seems basic to me. But the macro detail is more obvious, even darker in the background. In addition, micro detail is hinted at on more than one occasion, giving the feeling that there is only one more step to get there.
I also think that the positioning and the image are perceived more clearly.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Rose has definitely put its foot on the accelerator when it comes to TWS. At a very reasonable price, the Rose EARFREE-i5s continue to climb up the list and are now in the upper echelon, above the Ceramics Xs. Again, they are very responsive, offering great sound volume. And, most importantly, without distortion. They have gained in brightness and in terms of information this model is superior. The tuning is brighter and offers up to four EQs, where one of them is distinctly different. The RoseLink APP offers a considerable amount of options and works better and better. This time, the touch functionality can be customised at will. The battery life remains at 10H (50H with the charging base). This model even seems to be more stable in its connection. Small improvements for a firm sound and a model with an alternative, but safe shape.

 

 

Sources Used During the Analysis

 

• Xiaomi 13T 5G 256GB.
• Fiio BTA30 Pro.
• FireStick Amazon.